Impact Investing has gained a great deal of attention, as of late, as a way for investors to pursue investment returns while supporting an array of social and environmental missions. Impact investors pursue the “double bottom line” of investment performance in tandem with tangible, quantifiable mission-aligned benefits.

The field of impact investing is rich with creativity and enthusiasm. However, it can also strike institutional investors as too abstract and cumbersome to implement in a portfolio.

Social investment group Social Ventures Australia (SVA) has submitted a response to the Interim Report of the Financial Systems Inquiry (FSI) recommending that a social investment bank be seeded with $200-250 million of debt or grant funding from the Government.

SVA said its submission addresses the key impact investing themes under consideration from the Inquiry’s interim report in July including a dedicated social investment bank or fund, tax concessions and incentives, the role of intermediaries, and structural barriers to investment.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management advisers sold $12 million in green bonds issued by the World Bank last week, surpassing what the INVESTMENT bank expected based on similar issuances a few years ago.

About 70 clients bought the AAA-rated World Bank Green Bonds, which mature in 10 years though are callable after a year. The bonds, which pay a 2.32% COUPON per year for the first five years and step up to a maximum of 8.82% per year, will fund World Bank-financed projects focused on low carbon development.